Murphy's Keeper
by emwritesthings
Summary: Emma Thompson had two best friends, Monty and Jasper, before the three were imprisoned for their crimes. While in the Skybox, Emma lived in the cell next to John Murphy. Now, she and 99 other delinquents are on Earth. When John Murphy almost gets hanged for his crimes, Clarke suggests Emma be in charge of Murphy until they know he can be trusted. What could go wrong...?
1. Prologue: Earth

**[PROLOGUE]**

Emma Thompson sat in her Skybox cell, tracing her fingers along the cracks of the wall. She hummed to herself, trying to stay sane in this insane world. It was difficult, grasping with the reality that, in less than a week she was going to die.

Five days, twelve hours, and forty-five minutes to be exact.

The clang of metal against metal broke her from her trance. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't her cell.

"John Murphy," the prison guard spoke her Skybox-next-door-delinquent's name. She had never seen him, only heard his thinly veiled threats to the guards that came to his cell. He had nightmares that she could hear through the thick steel walls. Once, she had tried to talk to him, to calm him down. That was a mistake she promised never to make again—he had told her fuck off and threw a bunch of curse words her way.

His response drew her in. "You know I've still got two days left. You guys trying to kill me early, just like you did with my parents?"

"Nope. You've been selected to be sent to earth."

Emma grew angry. Why the fuck did _this guy_ get the opportunity to go down to earth?! Her rage and disgust grew for the boy she had never met.

The guards at her cell made her skin crawl. They looked particularly slimy today, and the blond one leered in her direction.

"Emma Thompson."

"Yes?" She spoke, her voice sounding much less bitter and confident than she wanted.

"You have been selected to be sent to earth. The Dropship will leave at 12:30 tomorrow."

The guards left without a word, leaving her speechless.

Earth. She was going to Earth.

 **[END PROLOGUE]**


	2. Chapter One: Day One

**[CHAPTER ONE…DAY ONE]**

She was awoken from her restless sleep at 8 for mealtime. _My last meal_ she thought to herself. It was an observation, but a dark one that made her think. Her going to Earth still wasn't real. She had so many questions about why and how and where and who. In four hours, many of her questions were going to be answered.

And she was fucking terrified.

At 11:30, she was retrieved from her cell and was led down a long corridor that she had never been down before. The guards practically threw her into her chair and strapped her in. "Hey! What about my cuffs, dicks?" She shouted at them as they walked away.

"They're supposed to come off once we hit Earth," a blonde-haired girl seated across from her responded.

Pissed off, Emma just grunted. The girl across from her looked just as pissed.

At 12:15, all of the delinquents had been loaded onto the Dropship. Some bullshit speech from Chancellor Jaha was playing on a tiny screen in the center of the Dropship; it reminded Emma of something called a disco ball from a different era.

The Dropship was abuzz with delinquents' chatter. She looked around for her two best friends, worried that they weren't on the ship. "Behind you!" Came a familiar voice. Emma smiled and turned her head as far as it would go. She found her friends strapped to the wall.

"Jasper! Monty! How are you guys?!"

Jasper laughed. "Could be better, Em. You?"

"Haha, about the same. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've seen you!"

"Jasper and I were talking about all the havoc we're going to wreak once we get to Earth. You in?"

"Hell yes! How in the hell do you guys talk, though?!"

"We're in the general population deck."

"What?! I just thought everyone had individual cells and nobody saw anybody."

Monty laughed. "They labeled you 'A Threat To The Chancellor' since you got arrested. You've been in solitary confinement for the entirety of your Skybox Luxury Spa stay." At that, Emma and Jasper chuckled.

"Shit! I have missed a lot! You guys are totally catching me up once we can sit around and see each other!"

"Definitely," her two friends answered in union.

At 12:25, everything changed. A tall, dark-haired 20-something guard shot Chancellor Jaha. The members of the Dropship watched in horror, others in awe, as Jaha fell to his knees and the guard took off in the crowd. "DAD!" the guy next to the blonde screamed, and Emma realized he was the Chancellor's son. _What had the Chancellor's son done to get himself launched into space?_

Four minutes later, the guards at the Dropship were given a signal, and they began to clear the ship for takeoff. Just thirty seconds before takeoff, the shooter slid past the closing doors and into the Dropship. Nobody moved, terrified something was going to happen. The Dropship launched, and Emma felt sick; they were trapped on a ship in space with a possible murderer.

"O?!" The guy called, looking around. This caused the delinquents to look around. Everybody had heard of the rumor of siblings on the Ark, but nobody had actually believed it.

Sometime later, the tension diffused as some random guy unhooked himself from the wall and took advantage of the zero gravity. "What are you doing?! Get back in your seat!" The blonde-haired girl chastised. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Beanie Boy just smirked at her, and antagonized the Chancellor's son. Next to Emma, two kids started to unhook themselves. "Don't! You'll get yourselves killed!"

Ignoring the blonde girl, who Emma thought was much more in tune with this technology and the Ark Hierarchy than anyone on this Dropship, the two floated through the air.

The Dropship jerked into the Earth's atmosphere everything went to shit. The two floating kids were thrown into the wall next to Jasper and Monty. The Chancellor's pre-recorded message went fuzzy, and the lights went out. Emergency lights dimly lit the crashing ship. The blonde tried to stay calm, but the rest of the ship was in chaos and nobody was listening to her.

The impact onto the ground jolted everyone. Emma figured she'd had a giant bruise from the chair for at least a week. Everyone's cuffs and belts released, and people slowly picked themselves up in varying states of injury. The two floating kids never moved, and Emma eyed them warily. "They're dead," Blonde Girl stated, standing up after checking their pulses.

"Bellamy?!" A voice called from the back of the Dropship, and in mere seconds a brunette forced her way through the crowd to hug the man who shot the Chancellor.

"Who's that?" Someone asked.

"My sister," Bellamy responded. The murmuring crowd grew silent. _The rumors were true; there was a pair of siblings on the Ark and now they were on Earth_.

Emma watched as the Dropship door opened in excruciating slow motion, like those action movies the Old World used to have. Octavia stepped out and onto the Earth yelling "WE'RE BACK BITCHES" and the delinquents went into a frenzy.

After finding both Monty and Jasper, Emma dragged them through the greenery. "Where are we going?" Jasper questioned, whacking leaves out of his face.

"Seriously, Em. What are we doing?" Monty planted his feet, which yanked both Emma and Jasper to a stop.

"Dude! What the hell?!" Emma shouted, rubbing her now-aching shoulder.

Monty smirked. "Sorry…sort of. What are we doing out here?"

"Well, I figured we could find a nice, quiet place to catch up. We won't go too far from the Dropship, don't worry!"

Monty and Jasper shared a look, and Emma rolled her eyes. "C'mon, guys! It's been almost a year since we've seen each other!"

"Yeah. There's really nothing to talk about," Jasper said, shrugging and staring at the ground.

"I mean, I know you two got arrested for the same thing, but can't you tell me how General Population was? I was in solitary for twelve months! Do you know anything about anybody else?!"

"Well, I do know some stuff about some people. That blonde-haired girl across from you on the Dropship? Her name is Clarke Griffin."

"Wait. Clarke Griffin as in Abby Griffin as in Jake Griffin as in the guy who told the Ark everyone only had a few months to live?!" Emma's eyes got wide.

"The one and the same." Jasper replied, laughing at his friend's reaction.

"Wow. That's amazing! How'd Chancellor Jaha's son get in?"

"He committed some stupid crime to get himself in there with Clarke. I think he set the Unity Day Tree on fire, right Jas?" Monty asked, looking to his friend for confirmation.

Jasper nodded. "Everyone about lost their shit. It happened like a month ago, and I thought the guards were going to murder him."

Monty agreed. "It was fucking insane, man!"

"You two know anything about anybody else?"

Monty and Jas looked at each other and shrugged. "Nothing that I know of," came Monty's reply.

"Me either, Em. Sorry."

"Nah, man. Don't worry about it. I just wanted to kinda gauge everyone here; see who we can trust and all that."

The trio headed back to the Dropship and found Wells and some kid super-close to duking it out.

Just as some serious shit was about to go down, Zero-G Guy jumped down from someplace and right in-between the two.

"Murphy, can't you see the poor Chancellor's son is wounded? Why don't you save it for later when he can actually defend himself?"

Clarke came over and helped Wells with his ankle, but Emma barely noticed the exchange that followed. She was too busy studying the guy who had been her cell neighbor. His dark brown hair hung on either side of his face in a perfect part down the center. _Who even wears middle parts now? I thought they were eradicated in the Old World_ , Emma thought to herself, rolling her eyes in her head. His jacket had spikes on it, which made him look fucking ridiculous, in her opinion. Everything about him screamed "DOUCHEBAG" in a snobby voice.

Emma spent the rest of the day searching for edible plants. Monty and Jasper had gone on some expedition-thing with Finn, Clarke and Octavia, which left the rest of camp to deal with Bitchy Bellamy. Deciding she wanted no part in Bellamy's "The-Whole-World-Sucks-So-I'm-Gonna-Be-A-Dick-To-Everyone" Plan, Emma walked a mile in either direction of camp, scanning the ground.

A few hours in, she found a small patch of blueberries and picked a few. Washing her find with the water she'd found in the lake earlier, she sat down in the grass to eat them. She touched the soil, running her fingers through the dirt as if she had never touched it before. It felt nothing like the soil that was back on the Ark. Soil on the Ark was sacred; only the rarest food items were grown there. The soil on the Ark was 97 years old and counting. This soil was soft, like the leaves on the trees here. As Emma ran it through her hands, she couldn't help but be mesmerized. _This was the soil that rebuilt the world_.

After a few minutes, Emma picked some more blueberries and put them in the pocket of her Ark-issued jacket. As she walked back, she ran into Wells.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked, breaking him from his trance.

"Huh? Oh, I'm just digging graves for the two kids who were killed when the Dropship landed?" He resumed shoveling, sweat dripping off of his forehead and into the shallow graves.

"Would you like some help?" Emma questioned before she could stop herself.

Wells stopped and stared at her and Emma thought for a second that she had said the wrong thing. He broke into a grin and replied, "Sure! Do you wanna undress these two? We need all the clothes and supplies we can get."

Emma winced on the inside, but promptly began undressing the two kids. They were both so young; younger than she was. As she took off and folded up their clothes, she wondered what they had done to get themselves a one-way ticket to Earth. Did they steal? Kill? Commit treason? Did they suffer when they died? By the time she was finished daydreaming, she had finished undressing the two. In silence, she and Wells grabbed the two kids—her by the hands, him by the feet—and lowered them into their graves. Wells started digging again, this time filling the graves. "Thanks."

"Yeah, sure." Emma shoved her hands in her pockets and walked away, leaving Wells alone with the dead kids.

When she returned to camp, Bellamy had put everyone to work. The tents had been placed, and a piece of cloth now covered the Dropship entrance. She walked around to the back of the Dropship and knelt down, planting the blueberries in the dirt a foot away. Getting up, she brushed off her hands.

 _What to do, what to do?_ She thought to herself. Firewood had been gathered, and water had been found. There were protein packs that were in the aid kit the Council had supplied them with. Emma knew those wouldn't last long, but she didn't bother telling Bellamy or anyone else that. If they knew before they were prepared to know, chaos would ensue.

Once the sun set, Emma began to worry. Jasper, Monty, Finn, Octavia and Clarke had left an hour after they arrived and they still weren't back yet. She looked around, wondering if anyone else was as worried as she was. Bellamy caught her eye; he was sitting at the campfire, secluded from everyone else. He stared into the fire and she couldn't help but see if he needed her help. Getting up, she walked over to him and sat down on the log next to him.

"Worried about Octavia?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," he replied, his eyes never leaving the flames.

The fire crackled, and Emma was drawn in. The movement of the flames seemed to calm her. Just as she was about to ask Bellamy some personal questions, Monty, Clarke, Finn, and a limping Octavia came into camp. Emma stood up, sensing something was wrong.

In unison, she and Bellamy jogged over to the group. Bellamy and Finn helped Octavia sit down.

"What happened? Where's Jasper?" Emma questioned, panic rising in her chest.

Monty ran a hand through his hair, and Emma knew something was really wrong. "Jasper got hit by something…someone. They took him away."

"What?! No! How the hell could you let this happen?!" She turned her rage on Clarke. "You promised me you would keep them safe! You promised me that they were in good hands! What the fuck happened?!"

"It's okay, Emma. I'm gonna get a search party set up, and we'll leave first thing in the morning. The only thing we can really do right now is get some sleep. Jasper's out there, and _we will find him_. First, you gotta trust me when I say that sleep is the best thing for us—we'll be able to look at everything with fresh eyes tomorrow." Clarke placed a hand on Emma's shoulder, and the redhead knew the blonde was right.

"Okay. Do you want me to go with you?"

"Maybe. I'm trying to see who will work the best to my advantage and the camp's advantage." Her gaze went to Bellamy, and Emma understood.

There was weird balance of power between the two. Clarke represented the Council, Bellamy the Ark General Population. While Clarke had the book smarts, Bellamy had the experience. It was two opposites, clashing at every turn. Bellamy had the trust of the delinquents; Clarke wanted that. If Clarke and Bellamy could come together, they would be unstoppable leaders.

Thirty minutes later, Emma lay wide awake in the third level of the Dropship. All she could think about was Jasper, alone and hurt. It took her a while to fall asleep, and when she did, she fell into a restless sleep.

 **[END CHAPTER ONE]**


	3. Chapter Two: Medicine Women

**[CHAPTER 2…MEDICINE WOMEN]**

Emma woke up at first light to the sounds of birds and wildlife that she had never heard before. She rolled onto one side to stare at Monty sleeping peacefully next to her. In seconds, her peaceful mood was gone. Jasper was missing, and Emma presumed the worst.

A few minutes later, Emma forced herself up out of bed—if she could call it that—and went to find some food. She poured some water over the blueberries that she planted the day before. Her water all gone, she trekked down to the riverbank that Bellamy had found the day before. Cupping her hands in the cool water, Emma splashed some on her face. As she stared up at the foliage and the sun peeking through, she wondered if this whole Earth-delinquent-thing wasn't all bad.

Emma walked around for a bit when some red berries caught her eye. She recognized them as raspberries. Picking one, she put it in her mouth and savored the taste. These berries were amazing. The only problem she foresaw was having to tell someone. She hadn't found nearly enough berries to feed 100—well, 98—delinquents, and she knew that chaos was going to ensue if she didn't find a way to make sure that everyone was fed. She repeated her process from yesterday, picking three othe them and putting them in her pocket. Before going to find Clarke once she got back to camp, she planted the three berries next to the three blueberries from the day before.

Clarke spotted Emma as she came around from the back of the Dropship. Her red hair wasn't hard to miss, but then again neither was hers. "Emma!" She called, and the other girl stopped.

"Hey, Clarke. What's up? Did you get a team together?"

"Yeah. Bellamy, Murphy, Wells, and Finn."

Emma's heart sank; she knew Clarke had made up her mind and that she was not going to go in search of her best friend. "So…is Monty coming with you?"

"No. I need him here, working on a way to contact the Ark. He's the only one with the ability to do so, and I need him focused on that. With communications down, nobody up there knows that we're still alive. Bellamy's not helping anything by bribing everyone to take off their bracelets. I need to take him with me so that everyone else thinks that we're a team."

"I got it. What do you want me to do here?"

"Well, uh, what do you think you can contribute?"

Emma thought for a second. "I could help Monty with the bracelets. We've worked together on many other projects. I know how he thinks and we can take each other's minds off of Jasper."

"Okay, yeah. Do you know anything about medical supplies?"

"Yeah. I was the head field hand in the Agro Station on the Ark. I can do all sorts of things."

"Good, because most of the medical supplies were damaged or lost when the Dropship crashed. Jasper was speared and I don't know what his condition will be if…when…we find him."

Emma nodded, trying to keep it together. Clarke had just inadvertently admitted that they might not find Jasper. "Sure. Um, I can help Monty if he needs it, but I'll look around and see what I can make do with all of the herbal remedies in this jungle." She laughed, but it couldn't quite make it seem real.

"Great. Thanks. I'm so sorry that we have to leave you behind, but—"

"Appearances. I get it. You don't have to explain it to me."

"I'm sorry. I will make it up to you." Clarke left, Bellamy and crew in toe. Emma watched them leave. The leaves rustled behind her, and she turned to find Monty right behind her.

He smiled at her reassuringly. "They're going to find him and he's going to be fine."

"I hope so." They hugged, and Emma relished the feeling; it had been so long since she had gotten a hug from Monty.

When the hug ended, she smiled up at him. "Let's go get shit done!" The pair high-fived and went their separate ways.

Everywhere Emma looked, she saw green. Green leaves, green trees, green shrubs. Sighing, she sat down in the grass. Her entire life had been spent around plants, but all she could think of was Jasper at the moment. She laid down in the grass and stared at the giant leaves of the trees. Her mind wandered for a bit, and she recounted the first time she met Monty and Jasper.

 _She was five years old when she first set foot into the actual Agro Greenhouse. As children, the Ark expected all of them to attend a normal work day in each Station to help them find their path. At 7, they started their first classes—basic courses of course—and at 12 they began training in their respective fields. By 15, they were able to take on leadership positions. It was rigorous training, but nobody questioned it; it was something left over from life on Earth._

 _Emma walked into the greenhouse and instantly fell in love. It was just like the princess stories her mother told her: love at first sight and a happily ever after. Emma knew this was where she belonged. The scent of freshly-watered plants drew her in. She walked around, mesmerized by where food came from. Apples, oranges, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, walnuts, almonds, and more filled her vision. High up in the trees, she spotted people._

" _Mama! What do those people do?" She asked, pointing at the Tree-Top People._

" _Oh! They watch over everyone and keep them safe."_

" _That's what I wanna do," Emma stated matter-of-factly._

 _Her mother looked down at her and smiled. "You'll do well at whatever you choose, sweetie."_

 _At one point, she bumped into two boys who were her age. "Who are you?" The tall one asked._

" _I'm Emma."_

" _Well, I'm Jasper, and this is Monty," the tall one replied. "Wanna be friends?"_

" _Yes!" Emma exclaimed._

 _From that day forward, the trio was inseparable._

Recovering from her daydreams, Emma stood up and began to look for things that could help with a penetration wound.

Back at camp, Monty grew frustrated. He had been at this for what felt like hours and Jasper still wasn't back yet. Taking a break, he sat back on his heels. There had to be an easier way to contact the Ark. If only the radio hadn't been demolished in the Dropship crash…

It was good thing that there were 98 delinquents with working wristbands, although at the rate Bellamy Blake was turning people, it would be down in the 50s within the next few days. Monty estimated that, by the end of the week, nobody would have a working wristband. Bellamy Blake had been coming up with schemes to get people to give up their wristbands since Hour One of being on Earth.

Sighing, he went back to work, looking at all of the parts of the wristband before him. While it was taken from one of the dead kids, there was still much to learn about it. He saw the wire that latched itself onto the wearer's pulse, the panel that picked up body temperature, and other things that told the Ark Command what was happening on Earth.

A knock on the section of Dropship where he was working gave him an excuse to stop. He turned around and was greeted by Emma.

"Hey," she greeted, holding all sorts of green plants in a basket Monty didn't doubt she'd woven herself.

"Hey. What'd you end up finding?"

"A decent number of things. I got some nice big leaves for bandages. There's part of an aloe tree in here; I planted a few seeds of 'em behind the Dropship. I got a bunch of things I think might help, but we'll just have to see how bad his wounds are."

"Yeah. I'm glad one of us is feeling useful," Monty lamented, his gaze shifting towards the bracelet.

"What's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head in concern.

"I don't know, that's the problem! I know that the wristband stops working the instant the connection to human contact is removed, or if the wearer dies. What I can't figure out is how we can disconnect a wristband and still have it working once that human contact is gone."

Emma placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You'll figure it out, Monty. You always do."

He smiled at her. "I do, don't I?"

She laughed and made her way to the exit. "I gotta go sort this shit out, but I'll see you when they bring Jasper back, okay?"

"Alright. Have fun!"

"You too, loser!"

Two hours later, Clarke and the group returned. Hope welled in Emma's chest when she saw Jasper being carried by Murphy and Finn. Bellamy was carrying something else, but Emma didn't care; she was too focused on her friend to care about anything else. Monty grabbed her hand, and she squeezed his back. The two had been sitting around reminiscing while waiting for Jasper for about an hour. Now it was time to really go to work.

Emma went into Tree-Top Healer mode, her mind focusing on her hurt friend in front of her. Clinically and unemotionally had been her motto when out in the field. Clarke laid him down on the ground, and the two girls knelt over him.

"They cauterized the wound," Emma stated, her fingers brushing over the paste.

"Yeah, I just have no idea what it is."

Not caring that most of the camp's eyes were on her, Emma put a fingerful of paste in her mouth. The bitter taste made her wince, but she was able to recognize some ingredients just by taste. "Monty!" She called, and her friend was by her side in seconds.

"Yes?"

"Bring me the basket of plants, a stone, and one of those cupholders from the Dropship."

"Got it!" He ran, pushing past the crowd of delinquents that was beginning to form.

"Hey! Everybody move back!" Clarke yelled, and the crowd backed up a few paces.

"I need people to help me with this food! Don't just stand there gawking like idiots!" Bellamy called. At the mention of actual food, the crowd began to dissipate. In mere minutes, the only people left around Jasper were Clarke, Emma, Monty, and Octavia.

When Monty returned with the basket and other requested items, Emma set to work. She ground the aloe, a stem of lavender, along with water and various other plants, into a paste in the cup holder. When she was positive that the color in her cup holder matched the color of paste on Jasper, she removed the healing paste and replaced it.

The once-cauterized wound bled the second the paste was removed. "Where's his shirt?" Emma asked, looking around.

"Here," Clarke answered, handing her a shirt that was torn straight down the middle and caked with mud and dried blood.

"Thanks." Emma began ripping what was left of the shirt. Wordlessly, Clarke placed the strips on Jasper's open wound, applying pressure. Relief flooded Emma's face, and the two girls communicated silently. Clarke's Old World medicine techniques combined with Emma's Tree-Top Healer Agro skills made for one hell of a badass healer.

Once Jasper's blood had clotted minutes later, the paste was applied and covered with a leaf bandage.

"We make one hell of a team," Clarke commented as Bellamy and Monty carried Jasper up to the top level of the Dropship.

Emma smiled. "That we do. It's nice to have someone who knows all about Ark medicine. I just know about plants."

"With your plant knowledge and my doctor training, we can save anyone."

"Hell yeah. If only we could find something to put him to sleep before he wakes up in pain again. You got any remedy for that in Old World Medicine?" Emma asked.

"Just sleeping pills…or morphine," Clarke joked.

The two laughed. "Well, neither of those really grow on trees, so we're out of luck there. However, there miiight be something in this damn place that'll help."

"Alright. It is getting dark, though. Did you find anything on your walk today?"

"Nothing I picked. I can go and get some right now."

"If it were any other time but right now, I'd suggest going. With the sun going down and everything, I don't want to risk it. It'll be dangerous; those people are still out there, and none of us know what they're capable of." Looking around suspiciously, Clarke lowered her voice. "I'd say let's use some morphine tonight and then go looking tomorrow."

Emma's eyes widened. "You mean, we have _morphine_ right now?" She whispered back, a hint of incredulousness in her voice.

Clarke shrugged nonchalantly. "Just enough for a few doses. We've got a few other things, but nothing that will sustain us for a very long time."

Emma nodded. "Since you shared that with me, I have something to share with you." The two girls looked around. Bellamy had put everyone to work again, this time roasting the two-headed deer that they had killed. Clarke followed Emma behind the Dropship, curious about what secret the redhead was hiding.

"So, it's not much, but I've been planting my food findings. So far, I've only been able to find blueberries and raspberries, but in time I think we'll be good. There's not enough to feed 98 people, though, that's why I've been keeping this a secret for two days." Emma looked at Clarke, expecting to see anger or disappointment in her eyes. Instead, she found sympathy and understanding.

"Thanks for telling me. I get why you kept this a secret. You haven't even told Monty?"

Emma shook her head. "Nope. Not even Monty."

Clarke smirked. "I'm impressed. Well, let me know if you find anything more. I'd be happy to help you start a garden." She left the garden behind the Dropship, and Emma felt a strange sense of pride. A few minutes later, after watering her plants, Emma returned to the rest of camp. In a place off to the side, Clarke and Bellamy were arguing and gesturing to a pile of wristbands that lay at Murphy's feet. Just like that, Emma's eyes were drawn to the boy who had lived in a cell next to hers for almost a year.

She couldn't explain it, but something about him caught her eye. He intrigued her. Ever since they had landed on Earth for the first time in 97 years two days ago, she had a feeling about him. What kind of feeling, she wasn't sure. The biggest feeling she probably got was "douchebag" and "lackey". A part of her felt like he could be something more. She studied him some more.

She watched as he sat next to Bellamy, who had returned from his discussion with Clarke, eating a piece of two-headed deer. Their eyes met over the glow of the campfire and a feeling Emma couldn't describe welled up inside her chest. She wasn't quite sure that it was fear, but it was something indescribable. Something Bellamy said caught his attention, and his eyes left hers.

There was something underneath the boy who wanted to fight everyone. Emma was determined to figure out what it was.

She retreated to the Dropship, still full from a protein pack that she'd eaten earlier in the day. Besides, smoked whatever-the-hell-it-was was not appealing. Emma climbed until she reached the top level of the Dropship. The ripped hole in the top made it possible to look up at the stars. Sure, she could lay on the cold ground, but she preferred the metal. At the top level, she found Clarke feeding Jasper the piece of meat Finn had defiantly retrieved from Bellamy and Murphy.

"I'll take it from here," Emma murmured.

Clarke turned to face her. "Hey, Emma. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come up."

"It's fine. You go get food of your own. I can take care of my friend."

The blonde smiled. "Thanks. I gave him some medicine. He should fall asleep soon."

"Alright. I appreciate you helping him. I wish I had been there."

Clarke waved a hand, dismissing her comment. "You helped a lot when we got him back to camp. I'm sorry I put him in danger."

"It's not your fault. He's always been a bit of an idiot," Emma replied, chuckling at her friend.

"Well, he should be fine the rest of the night. Just give him some of the morphine we've got and we can go herbal-remedy-hunting in the morning." She got up to leave, handing Emma the cold cloth.

"Thanks."

Kneeling down to take Clarke's place, Emma placed the cold cloth to Jasper's sweaty forehead. "Hey, man. How you feeling?"

Jasper let out a dry laugh that soon turned to a grunt of pain. "Like shit. You?"

"Not as bad as you, obviously," she joked.

"Wow. Not funny, Thompson."

"Love you, too, Jordan. Now eat. You gotta get better so Monty and I can kick your ass."

"Whatever."

Ten minutes later, Jasper drifted off into a deep sleep.

Taking the opportunity to finally stare at the stars, Emma stretched out next to Jasper, her hand on his chest to make sure he was still breathing. Footsteps interrupted her sanctuary, but she didn't mind: she already knew who was coming.

Monty plopped down on her right. "Hey, Monty." She greeted, gaze fixed on the stars.

"Hey, loser." Monty greeted. Without taking her eyes off of the stars, Emma elbowed him in the ribs. A soft grunt of pain made her giggle. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, not sorry! Now shut up! I'm trying to enjoy the stars and you're ruining it!" She whisper-shouted at her best friend, feigning anger.

Monty shut up, but not without muttering "Nerd," under his breath. Emma smiled; she knew Monty was just as nerdy about the stars as she was. Back on the Ark, she and Monty would stare out the windows at the galaxies and rename the self-proclaimed "Lame" ones.

"Thinking about the Ark?"

"Huh?" She was unaware that the sigh she had thought about had actually projected out into the open.

"Your wistful sigh. You were doing that thing where you inadvertently sigh because you miss something. I'm assuming it's the Ark."

"Yeah. I don't know. Even though we got caught for 'illegal use of Ark farmland' I miss that stupid place. The Skybox included. It's like, I don't want to miss it, but it's the only familiar thing in this unfamiliar place and I miss that sense of belonging and familiarity, ya know?"

"Mm-hmm. I miss hanging out on the Skydecks, renaming constellations."

Emma giggled. "Dude, remember when we named on after the three of us?"

"How could I forget?! The MontEmPer will live on in infamy!"

"As it should." The pair chuckled, each reminiscing inwardly.

Minutes later, the sounds of people entering the Dropship and settling in for the night reminded them that they should catch some sleep, too. Emma fell asleep in-between her two best friends.

Her peaceful sleep was interrupted when Jasper began screaming.

 **[END CHAPTER TWO]**


	4. Chapter Three: Screams

**[CHAPTER THREE…SCREAMS]**

For a split second, Emma forgot that she was on Earth. The screams of pain reminded her of a memory she had been desperately trying to forget. Her eyes flew open, and she looked around the Dropship, remembering where she was. It wasn't Aimee screaming, but Jasper.

She could save him; Aimee was a lost cause.

Throwing her jacket off of herself, Emma rushed to her friend's aid, pressing the cool cloth to his forehead. "Jasper! Jasper!" She yelled, but he didn't seem to hear her over his own screams.

Clarke was by her side in minutes. "What's wrong?" She asked, sleep still clouding her thinking.

"Jasper's in pain," Emma replied, then lowered her voice to a whisper: "The morphine wore off."

"Do we have any more?"

"We did, but I think we used the last of it to put him out for the night. I didn't realize it would be this bad."

Clarke nodded, her face grim. "We need to get those plants, don't we?"

"Yeah. Do we have torches or anything?"

"Bellamy made some just before we all went to bed. Go find him; he'll go with you or get someone to go with you. It's not safe out there alone."

"Yeah. There's still some paste left if you wanna clean and redress his wound. Monty will help you," Emma said, gesturing to the stirring boy beside her.

"Thanks," Clarke responded, her focus on Jasper.

Emma exited the Dropship, and located Bellamy's tent. A moment of jealousy passed through her as she wondered what made him special enough to get his own tent, but then she refocused on the task at hand. "Bellamy!" She called from outside his tent.

A shirtless guy exited, and for a moment, Emma had to remind herself that her best friend was in pain and needed her. "Yeah?"

"Clarke said that I needed to take someone with me while I gathered plants to put Jasper to sleep. She also said that you made torches and that I could take one."

Bellamy scoffed, and for a second Emma thought he was going to tell her to fuck off. "Well, I'm not going. You can take Murphy." He handed her an unlit torch and nodded in the direction of the dying fire. "Just stick it in the flames and it should ignite. I'll get Murphy for you."

Emma remembered her basket, and ran quickly into the Dropship to retrieve it. Afterwards, she lit the torch and stood by the fire, waiting for Bellamy to return to Murphy.

"Here," Bellamy grunted, giving her a sleepy Murphy. "Hurry up, or I'm gonna kill that kid if he doesn't stop screaming."

Fear shot through her; she didn't doubt Bellamy's threats. "Can you boil some water? I'm gonna need it for tea when we get back."

Bellamy looked at her strangely. "Sure. Get back soon. There are things out there." He gestured to Murphy. "Don't disappoint me."

Murphy grunted, his eyes to the ground.

"Let's go," Emma spoke, finally breaking the weird tension that was going on between the two boys.

Emma led Murphy through the crazy plants. She couldn't help thinking how eery Earth was at night. It felt as if the entire forest was staring at her, but she hadn't seen any animals, excluding the two-headed deer Clarke's search party had killed on their way back.

"What the fuck are we looking for?" Murphy's annoyed tone of voice broke the sacred silence.

"Valerian root. I swear I saw some here when I was gathering other things," she responded, indifferent.

"What does it do?"

"It puts people to sleep. If we get enough, we can put Jasper to sleep for the rest of the night."

Murphy scoffed. "That's what his name is?! What an idiot."

"What do you mean?" Emma questioned, her blood running cold.

"He almost got killed trying to impress some girl, from what I heard. That makes him an idiot."

"That's just the way he's always been," Emma responded, coming to her friends's defense.

"You mean you know the guy?"

"I've been his friend for almost thirteen years. Yeah, I know the guy."

"Whatever," Murphy replied, kicking at the ground. Emma figured that was as close to an apology as she was going to get from the boy who'd had the cell next to hers for almost a year.

Kneeling down in the dirt, she spotted it: it's lavender-white flowers stuck up from the ground like little beacons. "You got a knife?" She asked Murphy, still entranced by the plant's beauty.

There were rustling sounds as he fished through his pockets. "Here," he answered, placing the blade in her outstretched palm.

"Thanks." She cut a few flowers from one plant, leaving some for the other people that seemed to be living here. She handed Murphy his knife back. Carefully, she began to dig around a still-growing valerian root plant, making sure not to damage its roots. She had plans to transplant this behind the Dropship, adding to her and Clarke's secret garden.

"Got it," she whispered to herself, placing the newly-dug-up plant in her basket.

"Is that it?" Murphy sighed, annoyance coloring his voice.

"Just one more thing."

He sighed again. "Hurry up."

Emma turned around, glaring at him. "Fuck off." She walking a bit east, remembering where the chamomile had been growing. She was going to add that to the garden as well, but not after picking a few for the tea she was going to make Jasper once she got back.

Fifteen minutes later, Emma and Murphy walked back to camp in uncomfortable silence. She wasn't sure what to say to the boy who had lived in the cell next to hers. Honestly, she wasn't even sure if he remembered that one time she asked him about his nightmares through the cool steel and he told her to fuck off.

Once they reached camp, Emma wordlessly handed Murphy the torch and made her way over to the fire. Bellamy sat on a log, holding a metal cup holder from the Dropship. He handed it to her, and she nodded her thanks. The water boiled moments later, and she added a bit of crushed valerian root and chamomile. She murmured to herself, "I hope this works," as she got up.

The tea was strong and bitter, Emma thought to herself as she took a sip of the warm liquid. It was nice, though, on this cool night. Climbing up to the third level of the Dropship, she handed the liquid to Clarke, who had propped up Jasper against the wall. Emma realized that everyone who was sleeping on the third level had left, and she couldn't help but feel just a little bit responsible.

Jasper drank, wincing as he forced himself to swallow. "What the fuck is this shit, Em?" He asked between labored breaths.

She chuckled. "Shit that's gonna put you to sleep, Jordan. Drink up."

He laughed, then quickly stopped, placing a hand on his ribs.

Emma turned to Clarke. "How's his wound?"

"Healing faster than expected. That paste you and the other people made is working quite well."

"Good. I hope we don't have too many more nights of this."

"Me either." Both girls turned to look at the now-passed-out Jasper. His face had a relaxed look, and Emma immediately felt relieved.

With her friend asleep, Emma quickly fell back to sleep.

The sound of birds chirping, and wind rustling through the leaves greeted Emma when she awoke. She smiled, wondering if she would ever get used to the sound of real live animals and actual plant life. Turning to her right, she was pleased to see Jasper still asleep. Placing a hand on his chest, she made a mental note to clean and redress his bandage when he woke up.

When she walked out of the Dropship, she immediately went to water her plants. In her haste to get to Jasper, she had forgotten to plant her findings. Hopeful, Emma planted the valerian root and chamomile beside the aloe plant. Getting up, she was about to go to the river when she heard arguing voices. Immediately recognizing Murphy's she went to go see what the problem was.

She found Murphy facing off with Wells yet again, and internally rolled her eyes. _Where are Clarke and Bellamy?_ She thought to herself. Feeling particularly leader-like, Emma set out to solve the problem.

"What's going on?" She asked, hoping her voice sounded authoritative enough. The two boys turned, and Emma saw the knife in Murphy's hand.

"He thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants and get away with it because he's the Chancellor's son," Murphy spat out, glaring at Wells.

"He thinks I stole stuff from the Dropship, which I did not!" Wells argued back, hatred flashing in his eyes.

"Murphy, put down the knife," Emma ordered calmly, trying not to set off the already-agitated boy.

"Why?" He challenged, turning his glare on her. Ice replaced the blood in her veins.

"So that you don't do anything you might regret."

"Fuck that! He needs to be taught a lesson." Murphy nodded in Wells's direction, and the Chancellor's son threw her a pleading look.

"He's still got a broken ankle, you dick! You want a fair fight, and this isn't it. If you win now, everyone will laugh at you because you'll be the pathetic loser who took down the Chancellor's son when he was already injured and unarmed."

Emma's statement seemed to hit John Murphy where it hurt. Without another word, he put the knife in his pocket and walked off into the greenery.

"Thanks," Wells spoke, coming up to Emma.

She smiled. "No problem. I know you probably could've handled it, but any friend of Clarke's is a friend of mine, and I protect my friends."

She glanced at his ankle, noticing he was still favoring his other side. "Go get Clarke to check out that ankle."

He grimaced. "Well, uh, Clarke's not really speaking to me right now."

Emma grew curious, but refrained from asking. "Alright. Would you like me to look at it?"

"Sure. Thanks."

He sat down on the ground where he stood, and Emma followed. He pulled off his shoe and sock, and Emma took his ankle in her hands. She had seen many cases of swollen, sprained, or broken ankles while working in the Greenhouse.

"The good news is, it isn't broken." Wells sighed with relief.

She ran her fingers over the bruised portion, where it was already purple and blue. "It seems like it's only bruised. There's a slight chance it might be sprained, but I think in a week or so it should heal and you'll be good as new."

"Thanks. Clarke looked at it the first time, but she hardly spoke to me. I'm glad you actually gave me some info on my ankle."

"Not a problem. Do you want me to pass my findings on to Clarke?"

"Only if she asks, and I doubt she will."

With that, Wells hobbled off. Emma leaned against the cool metal of the Dropship, wondering what she was going to do that day. She figured she could go out and try to find some more plants that could help with herbal remedies; maybe even look for larger food sources to actually bring back to camp and feed people with.

She sat on the ground for a bit, deciding who she was going to bring with her. Clarke and Bellamy were busy trying to run the camp without interacting; Mbege was busy trying to please Bellamy; Monty had work to do on the wristbands and Jasper was out of commission. She didn't feel like asking Finn; he seemed like a slimy individual and she didn't want to have to owe him anything later. Her only real option was Murphy. Considering the fact that she had just insulted him, Emma didn't feel too sure about asking him for help. The only "pro" in this pro-and-con situation was that she knew he wasn't really going to ask her anything and he wasn't going to get in her way. Her mind made up, Emma went to go find the person she'd just pissed off.

Fittingly, she found him throwing his makeshift blade at a harmless tree. He kept missing every time and grunting in frustration. Watching him practice, Emma found herself feeling a bit sorry for him. "You're doing it wrong," she commented, unable to stand there and watch him make a fool of himself any longer.

He turned, glaring at her. Even though she knew he was angry with her, she was unprepared for the hostility. "And you know how?" He questioned, smirking.

"Yes, actually. Give it to me," she ordered, holding out her palm.

Eyes never leaving hers, Murphy slapped the blade into her hand. "Thanks. Now, it's all in your wrist. Just aim for your target, but don't forget to keep your wrist flexible." She held the knife by the blade, positioning it right behind her ear. With pinpoint accuracy, she threw the knife. It hit dead-center on the makeshift bullseye Murphy had no doubt carved into the bark.

He stared at her, and Emma stared right back. He nodded. "Cool." Emma figured that was as much thanks as she was going to get; John Murphy didn't seem like the type of guy who admitted when he was wrong or thanked people for their help.

"Yeah. Did you wanna come help me look for more plants right now?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I'm kinda busy here. Bellamy wanted me to practice throwing so I can go hunting with him soon. I'm also supposed to go help put up the walls that Bellamy wants."

"Got it." She walked away, leaving him to his throwing.

Finally caving into the pressure of asking someone, Emma asked Clarke, who quickly obliged. She grabbed her own knife, and the pair set out to find food and medicine.

"So, what were you in the Skybox for?" Emma asked Clarke, curious to see if Monty's story checked out.

"My father made the discovery that the Ark was low on oxygen—something that wasn't supposed to happen for another hundred years, at least—and I released the video that got him floated. Wells was the only one who knew, and he got my dad floated."

Emma felt her breathing stop as Clarke divulged that Wells was the one who had gotten her father killed. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

Clarke threw Emma a sympathetic smile. "You didn't know." They hiked up a hill, now at least a mile away from the campsite. "What about you?"

Emma had been prepared to answer that, but then she couldn't find the words she was looking for once Clarke actually formed the question. "Well, it's a bit of a long story," she began, trying to stall.

Clarke laughed. "Have you seen where we are? I've got time."

"Haha, alright. It's a bit dark," she warned.

"Everyone here is a little dark."

"Where to start? Well, Jasper and Monty were busted for selling illegal substances to teenagers on the Ark—pot mostly, but they made hybrid plants that the Council didn't approve of. While they were doing that, I was keeping watch. It was late, and I was tired. I fell asleep while on watch duty. Now, most of the time, guards don't do night-time checks in Agro Station-"

"-But this time they did," Clarke finished knowingly.

"Yeah. I woke up to find a guard dragging me up. I screamed for Monty and Jasper to get away. They did, luckily. I wasn't so lucky. I fought hard. I beat the guard badly, so badly he was in the hospital for a week. The next day, they came to arrest me, deeming me a 'threat to the Council' and I was put in solitary. I saw Jasper and Monty as they were dragged from their quarters and thrown into general population, and then I didn't see them until the Dropship almost a year later."

"Wow," Clarke commented, finding no other words.

Emma laughed. "Yeah. Everybody better watch out cuz I'm…dangerous," she joked, putting on her fiercest facial expression she could muster.

The two girls collapsed into a fit of giggles. Without realizing it, they stumbled upon a meadow full of fruit.

"Holy shit!" Emma exclaimed, looking around at all of the trees. Peaches, pears, bananas, apples, and more were hanging from many different trees. Emma reached up and picked a peach. The familiar feel of fruit in her hand made her miss being a Tree-Top Healer. Realizing that they forgot a basket, Emma picked up some stray leaves and twigs and began to weave. Clarke joined her on the ground, watching her friend weave a basket out of thin air.

"That's amazing," Clarke commented as Emma finished the bottom half.

Emma grunted, tying long blades of grass to the ends of the bottom. By the time she was finished, Clarke had picked enough fruit to give all 98 delinquents a choice between peaches or apples. The pair lugged the basket back to camp, their backpacks filled to the brim with peaches and apples, too.

"If you could get me the pits of at least two peaches, and two apple cores, that'd be great."

"Garden?" Clarke asked.

"Yep. Although, I'm thinking that we need to start expanding it. These trees aren't gonna be able to thrive behind the small space that the rest of my plants are located.

"Yeah. I'll get Bellamy to give me a few of his lackeys and I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

The two arrived back at camp, just in time to see the delinquents putting the finishing touches on the wall Bellamy had promised and John Murphy had talked about. Some kid asked for a water break, and Emma watched in horror at what happened next.

"You want a water break? I'll give you a water break?" Murphy unzipped his pants and began peeing on the poor kid who just wanted to take a break. He smirked triumphantly, and Emma knew that she was never going to like this kid. Ever. Whatever good side of him she had seen was completely erased with this action right here and now.

"Murphy, what the hell?!" Bellamy shouted, pushing him away from the kid.

Murphy laughed, and Emma's stomach turned. "What? I was just giving him the water break he asked for!"

Bellamy didn't find humor in Murphy's statement, which Clarke appreciated, and he told Murphy to go cool off. He then called over some kid named Miller to help the peed-on kid.

An hour or so later, the delinquents started milling around, hungry. There was leftover two-headed deer, which was still as unappetizing as ever to Emma, but now there was a bit of sweetness to add to the mix. Clarke and Emma brought out their findings, and everyone rushed to them, grabbing the fruit that many of them had never experienced before.

After everyone was finished, Clarke handed Emma two peach pits and two apple cores. Emma smiled in thanks, and Clarke returned the gesture. They sat in silence, savoring the sweet fruit juices.

Realizing she had forgotten all about her friend, Emma turned to Clarke. "Has anyone changed Jasper's leaves yet?"

Clarke nodded, licking peach juice from her wrist. "Monty did it while we were gone."

"Oh thank god. I felt so bad for a split second."

"Don't. We did a good thing here today. I think Bellamy and I are finally finding a good balance of leadership between the two of us."

Emma agreed. "Yeah. He seems to kick everyone's ass and get it into gear, but you've established yourself as a leader by bringing back food and stuff that people need for survival."

"This was all you today, Em."

Emma smiled shyly, looking at the ground. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Well, it's not as if I'm about to lie to you."

"That means a lot," Emma replied, looking into her friend's eyes. It had been a while since she had a friend—who was a girl—who looked through her and saw her for who she was. Unwarranted images of Aimee flew through her mind, and Emma felt her eyes well with tears.

"You okay?" Clarke questioned, touching Emma's arm.

"Yeah. Just…memories, ya know?"

The blonde smiled sympathetically. "I know. I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks." Emma sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I better go check on Jas. Monty's probably about gone out of his mind."

The two laughed. "Alright."

Monty greeted her at the top of the Dropship. Jasper was awake, barely. "Hey, Jas. How you doing?"

"Could be better," he responded, smiling at her.

"I see that. Has Nurse Monty been treating you well?"

Monty glared at Emma, and the three laughed. "He's been a bit harsh, but it's been alright," Jasper spoke in between labored breaths.

"How's the chest?"

"Painful, but not nearly as bad as last night."

"That's good," Emma said. Turning to Monty, she asked, "When was the last time you changed his bandage?"

"About lunchtime, I guess."

"Alright. Jas, I'm gonna remove your bandage and give you a new one." She peeled the paste off, and was surprised by her findings. His wound was healing nicely; sure, there was going to be a scar, but it was going to look pretty cool.

"How am I doin', Doc?" Jasper joked, calling her by a nickname she hadn't heard in months.

"You're doin' pretty good, Picker," Emma responded, using her most professional Tree-Top Healer voice.

She crushed more aloe and lavender with water and other healing plants, and spread it on Jasper's wound.

She climbed down the escape hatch to go make Jasper his tea. On her way out, she harshly brushed shoulders with someone going in. Just as she was about to apologize, she realized it was Murphy and continued walking. That motherfucker could go burn in hell for all she cared.

The flames of the fire crackled, and Emma felt herself being drawn in. She couldn't quite explain it, but it made her feel safe and warm. The water boiled, and she added the valerian root and chamomile. Just as she was about to leave the fire, she heard a girl screaming. She ran in the direction of the scream, only to find Clarke comforting a small girl with blonde braids.

"Is everything alright?" Emma asked, approaching Clarke and the girl.

"Yeah. Charlotte just had a nightmare." Clarke wrapped her arms around the younger girl.

"Okay. I heard screaming, and I wanted to make sure nobody was hurt." Charlotte smiled at Emma, who returned it. "Would you like some tea, Charlotte? It tastes kinda gross, but it'll help you sleep."

The little girl took the cup and drank a bit of it. She made a face that made both Clarke and Emma laugh. "Yuck!"

"I told you it was bitter! Anyway, that should help you get to sleep. Now, I gotta go take this to my friend Jasper, but Clarke is gonna take real good care of you." With that, Emma left the two to return to her friend.

Jasper drank the concoction, and made a few jokes at Monty's expense before drifting off to sleep. As she watched her sleeping friend, Emma prayed he wouldn't wake up screaming in pain like he did last night; Clarke got so much hate for it this morning. She promised herself that she'd take the blame this time; Jasper was her friend and she felt partially responsible for his health.

She drifted off to sleep, her head resting on Monty's chest.

 **[CHAPTER THREE END]**


End file.
